I really couldn't get invested in this book, I plan to try again with it at some point but as for now it just isn't for me. There isn't all that much wrong with it but it just didn't tick any boxes for me.

An interesting take on the superhero genre. I liked the blurring between heroes and villains, and the relationships between the characters. I did think the story sagged slightly in the middle section, but the pace picked up towards the end and perfectly sets up a sequel.

3.5 stars

Since stopping Ace Anarchy, leader of the Anarchists, the Renegades - a group of prodigies (superheroes) - have been busy rebuilding the city and establishing order.
Nova, the niece of Ace and a member of the Anarchists, detests the Renegades and everything they stand for. She will do whatever it takes to get revenge.
Adrian is the adopted son of two of the founding members of the Renegades. When a villain named Nightmare mentions something linked to the murder of Adrian's mother - Lady Indomitable, who was a founding member of the Renegades - he has to find out what she knows.
What will happen when Nova and Adrian's paths cross?
Will Nova get revenge?
Will Adrian find Nightmare?

I'm a big fan of the Lunar Chronicles, so when I heard that Marissa Meyer was releasing a book about superheroes I just HAD to read it.
I thought Nova was a good protagonist. I could understand her opinions on the Renegades and I liked that she made inventions.
I liked Adrian as well but not as much as I thought I would. His power was pretty cool and would be very useful to have.
There was some good diversity - gay superheroes, a character who had a bone disease and needed a cane to walk, and Nova was half-Italian, half-Filipino.
Some of the characters in this reminded me of actual comic book characters - Gargoyle made me think of Thing and Dread Warden reminded me of Judge Dread (mainly because of the name). But it must be hard to think of original names and abilities given how many comics there are nowadays.
This was an interesting take on superheroes and villains. I'm definitely planning to read the next book.
While the plot was engaging and interesting, for such a long book not that much really happened.
I have to admit that I'm slightly disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more, but it was still an enjoyable read.

Overall this was an enjoyable read.

I enjoyed Marissa Meyer’s previous series, The Lunar Chronicles, however I think this suffered from the over saturation of superhero related movies and books that’s around at the moment. As such, I personally found it uninspiring, long and a little bit predictable.

One of the main issues here is the length. It felt really drawn out, with action scenes few and far between. The beginning was particularly slow, with the introduction of characters and an obvious setting of the scene. However, I just couldn’t get over the slow pacing. By no means is the writing bad. In fact, it has that familiar Meyer feel that flows well, and makes you want to invest in her characters and world. I just found that I couldn’t commit fully due to the lack of plot development, and I quickly lost interest.

Nova, as a main character is compelling enough. Known as Nightmare, she’s a member of the villainous Anarchist group sent to act as spy by infiltrating the Renegades. Here she meets our supposed ‘good guy’ Sketch/Adrian. I liked the murky dilution of what it is to be good or evil, and the sometimes moral issues this presents. Nova is rather ambiguous in her evil persona, and multi dimensional. She’s developed well (as she should be), and you can really feel her inner turmoil and reworking the prejudices she’s grown up with, as she fights for what she should do and what she wants to do. I do think that at times her relationship with Adrian felt very Romeo and Juliet, which did get a little cliched as the plot moved forward. I would have appreciated a bit more antagonism and ‘bite’ in their relationship rather than Nova basically finding him attractive. I also found all of the other characters very flat in comparison. This is Nova’s story, but they could have been developed better. That said, I liked a number of the more ‘unique’ superpowers that Meyer’s explores, which didn’t just fall into the tired category of ‘flight’ or ‘super strength’.

My other main issue with the novel was that, even with the length, a number of plot developments are left unanswered - clearly in anticipation of a sequel. I found this so irritating as it felt like I’d slogged through a massive tome with little payoff. The plot (what little I found of it) is also a bit all over the place with no clear objective - possibly because this is being saved for a future book, and predictable. As stated, I think this is because of the many superhero books and movies that have been around over the past few years. It’s hard to be original when literally everything has already been done to death.

Unfortunately, the potential is there, but I just couldn’t enjoy this as much as I wanted to.

When I heard that there was a new book by Marissa Meyer I got so excited and know I just had to get my hands on it asap.And then I saw the cover and it is so beautiful and I wanted to read the book even more. And then, finally, there it was... Renegades. I started reading right away and was thrown into a story filled with villains and superheroes. A little bit of romance too. Did I like it. YES I DID! IS there something I didn’t like? Well, it was a little bit slow at times. Aside from that, no complains and now I can’t wait for the next book. I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan!

Thank you My Kinda Book & Pan Macmillan for sending me an arc copy of Renegades to review! I also got accepted on NetGalley for an ebook a week before my arc arrived..

I've also since ordered the American edition of this book as it's absolutely gorgeous! I managed to find this book within 3 days, it was incredible! I loved the story and the characters it was so well written! The beginning of this book did kind of remind me of Batman, even the name of the city they're in.. Gatlon City.. Gotham City but it did begin to draw away from it soon after.

So Gatlon city is now run by Renegades and they are trying to overcome the past of where the city was stuck in the Age of Anarchy by rebuilding and creating new laws however some of the old gangs like Anarchy don't fully like the idea of the Renegades being part of it so Nova aka Nightmare, infiltrates the Renegades to find a way to bring them down from the inside. 

The relationship between all of the characters has been written so good, I also love the superhero names that everyone has that relates to their superpower, Insomnia, Sketch, The Detonator etc. We read this book from two points of view, Nova who is our main character which we read the most about and Adrian our next main character. 

The superpowers that are in this book are so cool and totally unique! I loved reading this superhero book, it was such a fun read and I definitely recommend it. THE ENDING AS WELL, DAMN I DIDN'T SEE IT COMING! I'm desperate to get my hands on the next book in the series which is called ARCHENEMIES, but it's not out until November 2018, I'm assuming that is the USA date as Renegades isn't out until April 5th 2018 for us UK fans. WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO US PUBLISHERS?! Nevertheless I'm excited!

My American hardcover copy of this book is quite hefty with a page count of 556! Despite the intimidating chunk of a book I found it was quite a quick and enjoyable read, it kept me hooked on the book so I didn't want to put it down!

I've only read Marissa Meyer's first two books in the Lunar Chronicles series (which is absolutely amazing by the way!) Cinder and Scarlet. I'm beginning to like Marissa Meyer as an author!

Renegades is a fun and fascinating study in the difference between how someone comes to be perceived as a hero or as a villain. In Nova's mind, The Anarchists are the heroes trying to free the city from the rule of the corrupt, unelected Renegades. To Adrian, The Anarchists are evil, violent murderers. But The Renegades are simply trying to help the city, and, in a very different way, so are The Anarchists. Nova's plan to take down The Renegades requires her to first become one of them, and as she starts to see the other side of the story, that The Renegades maybe aren't all as bad as she previously thought, her loyalties and her beliefs start to be tested in ways she hadn't anticipated, especially once she gets to know Adrian and his team. Adrian, on the other hand, has his own battles to fight, that mean he must grapple with his morality in a very different way.

Renegades is full of interesting characters, my favourites being Nova's small band of Anarchist friends, and set in an interesting world, in a city home to many Prodigies (people with superpowers) who are permitted to audition for The Renegades, but only accepted if their powers are deemed useful enough, and even more people with no powers who must rely on The Renegades for safety whether they want to or not. The questions of who deserves power, who gets to be a hero, and who decides are present throughout the book, and as Nova becomes deeper embroiled in the world of The Renegades, the lines between good and evil become further and further blurred.

Of course, being a book about superheroes and villains, there is plenty of fighting, double-crossing, and secret-keeping, and enough twists and turns to keep the story entertaining through all 500+ pages. Combined with the questions of morality that the story explores and, of course, the budding relationship slowly forming between Nova and Adrian, Renegades is full of story and intrigue and is definitely worth a read for any fan of superheroes, science fiction, or just really good young adult novels in general.

A little bit slow to start as it's setting the scene, hopefully it won't be to long until the next installment as things were getting really exciting.
This is an interesting look at superpowers and the difference labels can make - what makes you a hero or a villian is more than which side you are on.
Thoroughly enjoyable with lots of detail and innovative thinking.

Not the writers fault, but I'm done with the superhero genre thanks to the movie over saturation. It was well written, I just found it hard to enjoy like I used to.

Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review.

Renegades is a superhero vs supervillian story. The Renegades vs the Anarchists. 

Ahhh I was so happy when I was approved for the e-ARC. The Lunar Chronicles has to be my all time favourite series so once I was approved for this I had to read it.. it's still not available to buy in the UK!
I think Renegades is like Cinder.. it's the first in the series and so Meyer is building her world of superheroes and doing the character development. Because of this it can be a little bit slow at times.. but the end of the book was amazing and I really don't want to wait for the next one to come out when this one isn't even out in the UK yet!

I am a long term fan of Marissa Meyer – loved the Lunar Chronicles – so generally if I’m less of a fan of one of her books, It’s because I didn’t engage with the story as much, rather than the writing. On the surface Renegades has everything I like in a story and yet for me something was missing? I can’t entirely put my finger on it but it seemed a slow start to something that I felt should be faster paced. I loved the superhero premise and I am all about the gay dads – those who called this book out for poor rep really made me roll my eyes. So I liked this book but I didn’t love it, and maybe I’m penalising it unfairly because somewhere in my head I’m subconsciously comparing it to the lunar chronicles? I may well find that I up the rating to 4 stars because the story keeps coming back to me. I really want to read the next book too so that’s always a good sign.

I think it's impossible to dislike superheroes, and Marissa Meyer has created some of the coolest I've seen. It's not just the two main protagonists, but all of the secondary characters too. They have backstories and interesting powers that make you want to be part of the Renegades. (Does reading a lot of books count as a super power?)

It wouldn't be a backstory if it wasn't a little tragic and Nova definitely has a dark past. Getting to see her interacting with others and finding a new family, especially where she didn't expect, was really rewarding.

I'm not usually a fan of fight scenes, but the action translated surprisingly well into fiction and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to know if everyone was going to be okay. Seeing as 'The Lunar Chronicles' got a graphic novel series, I'd love to see 'Renegades' get the same comic book treatment!

The Marvel obsessed need to get their hands on Marissa Meyer, for sure.

Who doesn't love Marissa Meyer!!!

I love Marissa's style of writing from reading her previous work and this book did not disappoint. If this book you get super heroes. The two main characters are a firm favourite and I liked the inner conflict between the two. I liked the fast pace of this book and before you new it I had finished it.

A bit about the book - you have the Anarchists (Villains) and the Renegades (Superheroes) the beginning of the book tells you how they come to be at odds with one another but as always there is more to the story than meets the eye. You meet the tow main characters Nova and Adrian and follow them through there own journey.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and cannot wait for the next.

Fun, dramatic, superhero goodness. It is full of superhero tropes - secret identities, stylish (but practical) outfits, vengeance for dead parents, secret hideouts, origin stories etc. Everything you would want from an action-packed superhero story. We are introduced to superheroes with names like Captain Chromium and Tsunami, fighting against villains with names like Phobia and The Detonator in a metropolis full of innocent civilians. Standard superhero fare, right? But Renegades reads like something a little bit more special. We step into the world of Renegades after the arch villain has been defeated. We see it years post-victory; when instead of saving it from destruction the heroes are trying to govern, keep the peace and rebuild.

Our two main protagonists, young prodigies with powers, give us completely opposing points of view. From rival groups, both think they are on the 'right' side which leaves the distinction between hero and villain no longer so clear-cut.

A very enjoyable read that strongly hints at more to come. This book is full of mysteries, and many of them remain unsolved, or at least partially so, by the ending. I desperately want to know more and will be reading on when the next book comes out.

Renegades was pretty RAD!

Yes, I’m unapologetically using the word “rad”, because I am just that cool.

(I swear this book is better than my awful use of slang)

From the opening line, I knew I was in for an exciting ride. The writing gripped me from the opening sentence and I was utterly engrossed right up until the very end. It was full of great twists and turns, leading upto an ending that I wasn’t actually expecting. I have heard some complaints about pacing for this one, but I just didn’t see it that way at all. For me, the action kept on rolling up and down the rollercoaster from beginning to end.

There was also plenty going on under the surface and had layers of mystery that I couldn’t wait to get to the bottom of. While Renegades perhaps could have done a bit more to keep me on the edge of my seat, given how popular the genre is right now, there was still an element of complexity and just enough intrigue to keep me wondering what was going to happen next.

Now I went into this book fully aware that some people had compared this to the X Men- and there are definitely elements of that. However, for me personally, this felt more like a homage than a ripoff. Especially as there were some cool concepts incorporated into the story. Thanks to a few changes of setting and tweaks to the story, this took on a life of its own. I think it also helped that I wasn’t really expecting anything ground-breaking or original (c’mon at this point, the formula for a superhero story is ironed out and this is a YA retelling of that same idea)

Renegades was somewhat faithful to the idea of what a superhero should be, yet still managed to play about a little with the idea of villainy. This made for some GREAT characters- and I especially liked Nova as the female lead. Plus, it didn’t hurt that the powers, especially Sketch’s, were really cool.

Above all, it was FUN. A lot of superhero stories have lost that lately- but this was thoroughly enjoyable.

Rating: 4/5 bananas

Renegades by Marissa Meyer.... what is there to say about this little gem of a book?

It's a great read and fabulous to see the superhero genre being given this treatment. Yes, there are hints of other books, shows and films throughout but that doesn't take away from Meyer's story. Showing the same story from the two sides (hero and villain, good and bad.... but side is truly which? Both the Renegades and the Anarchists think they are right and doing things for good of the people so who is truly evil honestly?) is a wonderful idea and gives the story a good momentum throughout the book. The characters are interesting and as realistic as those with powers can be. The two leads, Nova of the Anarchists who's undercover as a Renegade and Adrian/Sketch/Sentinel the Renegade son of two of the original Renegades, are great foils for each other and their ongoing relationship is going to be a fun one I think and they fight their feelings for each other and against their differing beliefs and upbringings. Even the secondary characters are intriguing too, even more that the leads in some cases. The world-building is rather good and expands as the book goes on and you learn more about what originally happened between the original Renegades and Anarchists, hopefully the mythology will continue to grow as the series expands. The pacing is perfect for the story and keeps the book moving at quite a pace with reveal after reveal, twist after twist and I found it extremely difficult to put down myself.

Personally I loved the book and found it to be an exciting, diverse, impressive and very enjoyable read and I am really looking forward to seeing where Meyer will take the tale next!

I don't really think I expected anything less than to be blown away by Marissa Meyer's newest series. After all, what else do I love other than fairy tale retellings? Super heroes! And villains! And that's what 'Renegades' focuses on, in pretty intricate detail. I've actually never read a novel that focuses on the subject. Most 'superhero' media comes in the form of comics, movies and TV series, but it is a trend I'm starting to see become popular and one I am totally on board with.

So let's start with the awesome: Meyer's world-building has NEVER disappointed me and she didn't start here. I loved the way that society is depicted and how it's view on superheroes (or 'prodigies' as they are called here) has changed from disgust and fear to 'Renegade' worshipping and total reliance. It gave a very detailed look on the good and bad points to this kind of society, and having POV chapters from a 'hero' and a 'villain' was a great decision to reveal these details. Nova's POV was my favourite of course, I always have a soft spot for the 'darker' side of things. She was an awesome heroine too: quick-witted, clever and reliable but not lacking in emotion. All of the side characters were very well constructed too and I look forward to seeing more of them.

I did end up giving this book a slightly lower rating than I have her others, and that's mostly down to the pacing. The prologue of this book was BRILLIANT in setting up the story, and then afterwards, I feel like everything slowed down a bit. It's a rather long book too so it became a bit difficult to get through as a result, and I felt at times that Meyer tried too hard to make sure something was always happening. Also, some of the dialogue was a tad...cringey? Still, those minor complaints are my only ones, as Meyer is queen of complex, diverse characters in a new and exciting world, and I can't wait for book two where I can revisit this world again.

This is a book that I've been looking forward to since it was announced, but I just couldn't get along with it. The story started off really cliched and predictable and really cheesy and it just put me off for the rest of it, i sooo wanted to like it, i enjoyed the authors other books, but I just couldn't click with this one. I didn't really like or engage with the main character and the plot just reminded me of a bad superhero / villain movie.

I absolutely loved this book! I do love superheroes and Meyer’s writing though so I’m not too surprised! It is a little slow in places but the ending left me reeling!

Okay so I will admit that it places it’s probably not 5 star material and I’d have liked to have seen more about nova’s politics and her discussing that with any of the Renegades. Her and Adrian discussing that was really interesting for me. As was the well meaning but sinister undertones of all things to do with the council, I’m looking forward to getting more of that in the next book.

And that cliffhanger! Oh my gosh. Haha.

But when it comes down to it, I really enjoyed this. It’s an easy and quick read full of fun. And I will always love a story about a person outsmarting others, especially those of “greater ability”.

I didn't end up finishing Renegades. It wasn’t a bad book; it just wasn't my cup of tea. I've never really had much interest in superhero stories, but I was intrigued by this one because I really enjoyed Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicle series. After about 20% I decided to put it down, because it wasn't holding my interest. Although I did not finish it I would still recommend it to those who enjoy superhero stories.